After suffering their first defeat of the 2026-27 season at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League, FC Barcelona also saw their winning run in La Liga come to an end with the defeat to Real Madrid at the Spotify Camp Nou on Sunday.
With this loss, the Blaugranes have lost their first three points in this league campaign, but they still are three points ahead of the Merengues on the table, and two ahead of the second-placed Atletico Madrid.
However, in addition to a loss to their bitter rivals and the loss of these three points, the Catalans also lost yet another defender in this game, as [Xavi Espart had to leave the pitch in the first half due to an injury](https://barcanewsnetwork.com/cubarsi-8-0-yamal-5-5-fc-barcelona-1-2-real-madrid-player-ratings/).
The Spaniard is expected to remain out of action for around seven weeks, and this piece of bad news comes for Barcelona at a particularly delicate time, as Jules Kounde and Eric Garcia also both suffered injuries recently, and were unable to play against Real Madrid.
In such a context, Hansi Flick will be facing a shortage of players in the defence, especially at the right-back position. According to [Mundo Deportivo](https://www.mundodeportivo.com/futbol/fc-barcelona/20261027/1004243549/carta-emergencia-flick-lateral-derecho.html), one player who is at his disposal and towards whom he can turn in this situation is the youngster Brian Farinas.
The youngster trained with the first team during the summer, and Flick prevented his move to Girona as he believed he could prove to be a useful player for him this season. However, he is yet to play his first minutes with the first team.
Although he plays primarily in the midfield, as either a central or an attacking midfielder, he has also played as a fullback, as he did in the friendly game against Birmingham City during the preseason tour of England. For now, Jules Kounde is also reportedly close to returning to fitness, and it remains to be seen whether he will be ready for the match between Barcelona and Alaves or whether Brian Farinas will get the chance to play in this game.